Regional Director of Rugby Phil Davies says his side will go into this weekend’s final Pool 2 clash with Exeter Chiefs with plenty of hope as they chase qualification.
A win against the Chiefs could still hand the Blues a place in the last eight of the Heineken Cup with the two best runners-up qualifying alongside the pool winners. Toulon’s victory on Saturday means they have already qualified but with the three next best runners-up in the Heineken Cup group stages dropping into the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals, Davies is still up for the challenge.
“We have something big to play for in the final pool game,” he said, after seeing his side beaten by a powerful Toulon side.
“If we can dust ourselves off, go home and perform well in front of our own crowd we can still get something in Europe.
“If we can get four wins out of six, I will be reasonably happy and if that puts us into the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup, that would be terrific. To have something to play for going into game six is great.”
The Blues were eventually ground down by the Toulon pack at the Allianz Riviera as the Welsh region conceded three penalty tries and saw four players yellow carded. Chris Czekaj, Benoit Bourrust, Robin Copeland and Ellis Jenkins all spent time in the bin as Toulon skipper and former England man Jonny Wilkinson kicked 23 points.
Davies is now turning his attentions to Exeter, a side who were beaten by Glasgow on Saturday but defeated the Blues 44-29 at Sandy Park earlier this season.
“We know we are better than we displayed against Exeter on day one of this competition,” he added.
“But that is long gone now, we have moved forward. Exeter will be tough because they are a good team and they won’t be happy with losing to Glasgow. It’s a big challenge for us and if we perform well, it is a game where we can get a result.”
Defeat to Toulon aside, the Blues also saw skipper for the day Gethin Jenkins hobble off with a calf problem. Wales name their Six Nations squad this week.
“Gethin is sore at the moment and we will see how he goes,” said Davies.
“We have just got to wait, give it 48 hours and see where we are after that timescale. Gethin was fantastic in the first half – we are very lucky to have him and Sam Hobbs.
“It is unfortunate for Gethin as he is a world class player. But we have got Sam who can step up now and take on the position if we need him.”
